Quote:
Originally Posted by little edie
Icmaly,
Years ago I was anorexic so I have a little understanding into body image issues.
When you first started losing weight, did you picture your body differently when you hit your goal? Is there a certain body type you wish you had?
You have worked hard and stuck to your weight loss committment with fantastic results. I'm very proud of you even though I only know you from this website.
I think we get locked into this "I must lose weight" mind set that is very hard to switch off when we've achieved a healthy weight. Since we don't want to relapse, it's hard to turn that part of our brain off. We've become hardwired to get our gratification from the decreasing number on the scale. Your subconscious may just be protecting you from letting go of the scale mentality. In time you may readjust how you see yourself.
If you decided to go ahead and get down to 143.5 would that be an unhealthy weight for you? If not, I would say go ahead and lose a little more and see how you feel.
Also, it must be a letdown to discover you're already there at the finale without any mental preparation. I remember getting down to a certain number and thinking "Is this it?" There was no fanfare, just me in my knowledge that I had accomplished a weight of 132 and my life wasn't that different.
You also may be discouraged because you no longer have a reason to challenge yourself. There's a great deal of satisfaction in seeing that weight drop off and now you don't have that to look forward to.
These are just some ideas. I've been awake over 24 hours now so I'm probably rambling quite a bit. I'm sure our veteran MRCers could offer some great advice.
When I started losing weight years ago (I lost about 50 lbs on my own over the last 6-7 years) each time I hit a goal I would think "if I just lost X more lbs I wouldn't have this flab anymore". I kept thinking more weight dropped would result in a tighter tummy and no overhang/muffintops. Well, at 152 I can say my tummy is the tightest it's ever been and to everyone else in the world, I don't have ANY overhang or muffintops. But to me I see that tiny little buldge, you know?
One of my biggest problems though isn't related to "fat" but rather a combination of thick skin and somewhat inelastic skin in my lower abdominal area. I've been told by 2 plastic surgeons that I have thicker than normal skin that may seem like fat but it isn't. Also, because I was so heavy when I was younger and up until 6-7 years ago, my lower abdominal wall actually seperated much like a pregnant woman's does. So my lower abs (below the belly button) are poofy even though when I flex they are rock solid. So although I'm SO happy with the way my body looks right now, I always think "if I just lost X more lbs I wouldn't have this pooch anymore". But I know that isn't going to happen!
You are right...we are all so used to wanting/needing to lose weight it's tough to get our brains to switch to the mode of wanting to just maintain. We're all told over and over again through magazines, TV, friends, family that we all need to lose weight. If I were to continue on and try to get down to 143.5, I would be flirting with being underweight. And as an adult competitive athlete, my performance would suffer if I was that small.
I just need to convince myself that 152 is just a number. I'm a size 6 (probably a size 4 in some stuff) which is unbelievable for a 6 foot tall woman. I'm less than 20% body fat which is awesome. And most importantly, I see myself in the mirror and I honestly CAN see a change and I'm happy.
But if I would have eaten ANY of that food earlier on the program, I guarantee I would have been up 10 lbs. 2 lbs is so manageable to me. I'm right back on plan today and wouldn't be surprised if those 2 extra lbs are gone by tomorrow morning (or by Wednesday morning at the latest).
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